Uses for computers in our daily lives are continually expanding. As these uses expand, it is beneficial for the manufacturers of both the computers and the software the computers run to have information on the manner in which the computers and software are used, as well as information on the users of the computers and software. Having such information assists the manufacturers in designing and creating computers and software that are more useful and better aligned with users' needs and desires. Providing such information to the manufacturers is also beneficial to users on a daily basis because the manufacturer can personalize the user's computer/software experience by establishing an on-going electronic relationship with the consumer.
One approach to obtaining such information is to collect “registration information” or “registration data” from the user and transmit it to the manufacturer. Registration information refers to demographic and other information regarding the user and the user's computer. This might include information such as the user's intended use of the computer or software, the user's preferred activities, hobbies, other computer hardware or software components or peripherals that are being used in conjunction with the computer or software, the user's electronic mail or street address, locale information (e.g., zip code), etc. The registration information may also include information regarding the computer itself (e.g., identification numbers, processor type, amount of memory, installed components, etc.).
Registration information is typically collected via multiple “registration wizards”, each of which is a program that is executed when the computer is initially set up by the user or the software is installed. Each registration wizard asks the user various questions to elicit the registration information, and may also interrogate the computer itself to obtain information (e.g., processor type) regarding the computer. Once the registration information is collected, the registration wizard transmits or “uploads” the collected information to a registration database, from which a manufacturer is able to subsequently retrieve the collected information. The registration database is typically accessed via a direct-connection (e.g., a direct phone call to a computer system maintaining the registration database) or via a network (e.g., the Internet, which may also require a modem call to access the network).
There are typically different registration wizards for the computer, one or more of the software programs being run on the computer, and sometimes for additional peripheral devices coupled to the computer (e.g., printers or scanners). However, much of the information that the different manufacturers want to obtain is often the same (e.g., name, address, phone number, etc.). Requiring users to repeatedly answer the same questions over and over results in a time-consuming, “unfriendly” user experience. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a more user-friendly way to collect registration information.
Additionally, once the registration information is collected the user's computer typically makes multiple modem calls to upload the registration information. One modem call (whether the connection be direct or via a network) is typically made to each of the registration databases. Making such multiple modem calls is a further time-consuming process and, due to the time involved, can result in a further “unfriendly” user experience. One solution to this problem is for the computer to make a single modem call to the computer manufacturer or a designated third party, which receives all of the registration information, and then transfers the appropriate parts of the registration information to all parties interested in the data. However, this can be problematic because the manufacturer or third party may not want to receive all of the information, or there may be disagreements between the manufacturers regarding which of them pays for the modem call from the computer to the specified manufacturer.
The invention described below addresses these disadvantages of the prior art, providing an improved way to collect and upload user registration information.